Keller Williams Mega Camp Survival Guide 2013

Are you heading to Keller Williams Mega Camp 2013? This can be a scary few days with so much going on.

ActiveRain wanted to save you the confusion so we brought you an expert on the event, Chad Hyams. Take it away Chad!

My name is Chad Hyams, and I have attended Keller Williams Mega Camp in many roles…

Agent

Team Leader

Voice of Reason with IMSD

General Manager

Area Director

MAPS Coach

Let me start by congratulating you on making the wise business choice to attend Mega Camp 2013.

Mega Camp Survival Guide!

If you are reading this and you have not yet registered, hurry! No hotel rooms? Find someone to bunk up with. No flights? Start driving now! No money? Put it on the credit card, as it will pay dividends forever! If you are still choosing not to go, make sure you still check out what you are missing so you can start planning for next year.

Now that we have that part covered let’s jump into what to expect from a Keller Williams Mega Camp event.

The first thing to know about the event is that there are actually three events that make up Keller Williams Mega Camp 2013.

Which conferences should you attend? All three!! That’s right, if possible and applicable you should plan to attend all three of these events.

Mega Leadership Camp

The Keller Williams Mega Camp week starts with Keller Williams Mega Leadership Camp. If you are a leader in the company you don’t want to miss this event. If you are interested in leadership in the company, you don’t want to miss this event. We will hear from fantastic leaders within the company and their success. This year we also get to hear from Howard Putnam, the former CEO of Southwest Airlines and a man that understands culture and leadership.

Mega Tech Camp

The next event in the Mega Camp lineup is Mega Tech Camp. This is a newer event that has been added in recent years and has been growing in attendance as more and more agents understand the power of and the need for technology skills. You'll want to take a lot of notes and enjoy drinking from the fire hose! Come learn the latest and greatest in KW technology and learn how agents are growing their business with valuable online tools.

After Mega Tech Camp is complete, don't miss out on Masterminds. This is a chance for you to end up in smaller groups with other leaders, other agents or other geeks at the same level as you. Discuss challenges that are universal to your level of production and discover ways to break through to the next level. Note: Agent Masterminds will be held Friday afternoon this year.

Mega Agent Camp

Finishing up the lineup is the highest attended session (more on how to deal with that later on) Keller Williams Mega Agent Camp. Gary Keller will host Mega Agent Camp and lead panel after panel of real estate agents talking about their success. Panels will include topics such as:

Internet Lead Follow-Up and Conversion

Craigslist

Expired/FSBO success

Expansion into New Markets

Social Media

Open Houses

And so much more

These panels and speakers are changed each year depending on what topics MAPS, Dianna Kokoszka and Gary Keller feel the agents need to learn more about.

Make The Most Of Your Time at Mega Camp

Plan on some organized chaos. There will be in the area of 10,000 real estate agents running around the Austin Convention Center with all of the events in one space.

In the morning, you'll make your way through the maze of exhibitors (more on them later) and head for the main room. Stake out your seat and make sure you are comfortable as you will be there awhile. Arrange in advance where you are meeting your office, your friends or anyone you want to sit with.

Unlike Family Reunion where you move around all day, Keller Williams Mega Camp will have you in one space and the panelist come to you. Each and every panel is worth its weight in gold as these are top producers speaking and sharing with you.

Know your ONE Thing before you get to Mega Camp. If you could learn ONE thing what would it be? Write this question down so you ask everyone you meet. If you could meet ONE person, who would it be? Find that person, or even better email, tweet, call or Facebook them today and arrange a time and place to buy them a cup of coffee and get 5 minutes of face time.

To get the most out of the sessions at Keller Williams Mega Camp you must have an open mind. The agents that walk away with their notes and saying things like “I can’t wait to give this a shot” are the ones that will grow their business. The agents that walk out with their notes saying, “this will never work in my city” are the ones that should have just stayed home. Open your mind and be ready to learn from those that are making it happen.

The biggest challenge that many attendees have is that they get so many notes and ideas that they just don’t know where to start. At the lunch break and at the end of the day, quickly look over your notes and circle the one thing that jumps out at you. Only implement a small batch of new ideas when you get back and you will have much better focus. Agents who attempt to put everything they learn into practice can end up worse off then where they started!

Mega Camp Exhibit Hall

This is a tough one as unlike Family Reunion there is not as much time for the Keller Williams Mega Camp exhibit hall.

As soon as you get to the exhibit hall, do the quick trick or treat walk. What is the trick or treat walk? That is when you zip up and down the aisles to each booth and grab whatever they are giving away (anything from pens to magnets to candy) and make sure you grab their information handouts. Just like on Halloween you always remember the house with the big candy bar to tell the other kids to visit! Make notes on which vendors you want to visit later. Don’t forget to say hello to the companies you’re already using!

The best times to meet with vendors are early in the morning (many booths open at 7AM), over the lunch break since everyone else will run to eat (more on that below), or where there is a panel that just isn’t something you click with. If you don’t plan to work with banks, then hit the exhibit hall when the REO panel starts.

Decide what your budget is for new services, software, marketing, and other items at the show and have a plan as to what you are looking to take home with you.

Are you needing KW branded clothing? Leave room in your suitcase

Are you wanting some great reading? Hit the KW bookstore

Are you looking for some outside training opportunities? Come visit the ActiveRain booth (in the Market Leader booth) and tell Bob and Kerri that I told you to say hello!

Are you looking for one on one coaching? Stop by the MAPS booth and meet the team

Realtors are all looking for the new magic bullet. Listen the experts invited to speak on panels and you will recognize that there are no magic bullets. The principle is work, work work and you should keep that in mind as you shop, shop, shop. Find things that work and generate more business for you... those are the things to invest in on the exhibit floor.

When Sessions Are Out

Lunch break at is a madhouse! The best thing to do is bring a power bar and take advantage of the quiet time on the exhibit floor instead of waiting 45 minutes for a table when you only have an hour lunch break.

The event never ends as Keller Williams Mega Camp just turns into a 6th Street Pub Crawl. Remember that while you are out, you still have more to learn the next morning and anything that happens on 6th Street probably ends up on Facebook before the night is over! Be smart and be safe. If you want to avoid the crazy scene at Pete’s Piano Bar or any of the other popular spots on 6th Street, just stop by the Hilton hotel lobby as the place to hang out.

A Few More Tips

One of the things that Keller Williams promotes is sharing and Mega Camp is no different. Use the power of Twitter and remember the hashtag #KWMC. Share with each other, find each other and share with those that were unable to join the event in person.

Time to make the most of this event by setting goals for Keller Williams Mega Camp.

What do you want to learn about?

Who are you hoping to meet and get a moment to talk with?

What do you need to find out about in the exhibit hall and what should you avoid spending money on?

Bring business cards, hand out business cards and remember the lessons that Gary Keller has been teaching us since Keller Williams began…it is all about collecting business cards to add to your database! Of course you'll also want cards to enter all of the iPad drawings on the exhibit floor.

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